Best Documentary Movies

Listing of the very best documentary movies of all time. Non-fiction films, or documentaries, were an original form of movie-making, where a camera was utilized to simply capture real moments of life being lived. The very capability to record and later on show viewers an event was itself a form of entertainment.

Best documentaries about movies also have were built with a central significance in propaganda and national politics. Leni Riefenstahl’s notorious movies with respect to the German Nazi Party – particularly 1935’s “Triumph of the Will” – have remained a startling reminder of the power of film as a medium to enthrall and influence a suggestive audience. Below are the list of best movie documentaries.

Best Documentary Movies

1. Senna,2011

Description

Ayrton Senna becomes a three-time Formula One racing champion and Brazil’s national hero before his untimely death at age 34. Senna is the best documentary movies

2. Night and Fog,1955

Description

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler’s concentration camps. In 1955 Night and Fog is one of the best documentary films ever.

3. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father,2008

Description

In 2001, 28-year-old Dr. Andrew Bagby is found dead in a park in Pennsylvania. He had been shot by his ex-girlfriend, who then fled to Canada, where she was able to walk free on bail, pregnant with Andrew’s child. Andrew’s enraged parent’s campaign to gain custody of the child and convict their son’s killer. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne pairs this story with home movies and interviews with those who knew Andrew, hoping to give his best friend’s son an opportunity to discover who his dad was.

4. Presumed Guilty,2011

Description

A couple with three children find their lives shattered when the husband is wrongly accused in a case involving sexual abuse of children. His fight to prove his innocence is laden with hurdles. Presumed Guilty is also one of best documentary films

5. Sigur R’s: Heima,2007

Description

Ethereal post-rock pioneers Sigur Rós play a string of impromptu gigs in their native Iceland after finishing a world tour in 2006. As they travel through the country, the band visits a wide variety of venues, from a large outdoor festival to a coffee shop. Footage of the atmospheric performances is intercut with images of Iceland’s breathtaking natural landscape and candid interviews with members of the band as they muse on music, travel and the rejuvenating power of returning home.

6. The Cove,2009

Description

In Taiji, Japan, local fishermen hide a gruesome secret: the capture and slaughter of dolphins. Activist Ric O’Barry, who trained dolphins for the “Flipper” TV series, joins forces with filmmaker Louis Psihoyos and the Ocean Preservation Society to expose the brutal practice, risking life and limb in the process.The Cove is one of the amazing documentary films ever seen.

7. Pusk’s Hungary,2009

Description

The life of footballing star Ferenc Puskas.

8. No Direction Home,2005

Description

The film concentrates on the period between Dylan’s arrival in New York in January 1961 and his “retirement” from touring, following his motorcycle accident in July 1966.

All of Earth’s problems are shown to be interlinked through footage from 60 countries.

11. The Sorrow and the Pity,1969

Description

The Sorrow and the Pity is a two-part 1969 documentary film by Marcel Ophüls about the collaboration between the Vichy government and Nazi Germany during World War II.

12. Zeitgeist: Moving Forward,2011

Description

Filmmaker Peter Joseph investigates the need to transition from the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm.

13. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills,1996

Description

A documentary based on a gruesome crime story wherein the mutilated bodies of three 8-year-old boys are discovered in a shallow creek in West Memphis, Arkansas.

14. The Union: The Business Behind Getting High,2007

Description

Filmmaker Brett Harvey examines the profitable marijuana trade between British Columbia and the United States.

15. Living Russia or The Man with a Camera,1929

Description

Part documentary and part cinematic art, this film follows a city in the 1920s Soviet Union throughout the day, from morning to night. Directed by Dziga Vertov, with a variety of complex and innovative camera shots, the film depicts scenes of ordinary daily life in Russia. Vertov celebrates the modernity of the city, with its vast buildings, dense population and bustling industries. While there are no titles or narration, Vertov still naturally conveys the marvels of the modern city.

16. Hearts and Minds,1974

Description

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson’s phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

17. My Flesh and Blood,2003

Description

Susan Tom has a very special family. For over a decade, she’s raised 11 adopted children, all of whom have some sort of mental or physical disability. A former nurse who endured heartbreak of her own, Susan has devoted her entire life to caring for and providing for her children. Among them are Joe, a moody teenager with cystic fibrosis, and Anthony, who was born with a rare and painful skin disease. Through birthdays, doctor visits and family feuds, Susan is the family’s rock.

18. The Two Escobars,2010

Description

An investigation reveals organized crime’s involvement in sports in Colombia.

19. Lake of Fire,2007

Description

An unflinching documentary shot in black and white, this film focuses on the heated topic of abortion. Directed by British-born filmmaker Tony Kaye, the production depicts the heated ongoing abortion debate in America, and features graphic footage of actual medical procedures. Presenting people on both pro-choice and pro-life sides of the issue, the documentary includes interviews with philosopher and political activist Noam Chomsky, anti-abortion activist Randall Terry and numerous others.

20. Concert for George,2002

Description

The Concert for George was held at the Royal Albert Hall in London on 29 November 2002 as a memorial to George Harrison on the first anniversary of his death.

21. The Times of Harvey Milk,1984

Description

Operating from his camera store in San Francisco’s Castro district, charismatic Harvey Milk is defeated three times before being elected to the city’s Board of Supervisors, making him California’s first openly gay public official. On the job he meets fellow supervisor Dan White, a homophobic ex-fireman with whom Milk develops a troubled working relationship. White grows increasingly disgruntled, resigns from his position and subsequently assassinates both Milk and Mayor George Moscone.

22. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage,2010

Description

A documentary about the Canadian rock band Rush relates the group’s 40-year history and examines its continuing popularity. Using extensive archival footage, it follows the resilient rockers, lead guitarist Alex Lifeson and singer/bassist Geddy Lee, from when they started the band in the late 1960s through to the present. A diverse group of interviewees, such as musician Billy Corgan, actor Jack Black and “South Park” creator Matt Stone, shares what makes the band so special.

23. Harlan County U.S.A.,1976

Description

In this documentary about labor tension in the coal-mining industry, director Barbara Kopple films a strike in rural Kentucky. After the coal miners at the Brookside Mine join a union, the owners refuse the labor contract. Once the miners start to strike, the owners of the mine respond by hiring scabs to fill the jobs of the regular employees. The strike, which lasts more than a year, frequently becomes violent, with guns produced on both sides, and one miner is even killed in a conflict.

24. No End in Sight,2007

Description

This documentary film takes a critical look at the American invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the war that followed. The film includes extensive interviews with various military and government officials, many of whom worked under President George W. Bush during the beginning of the Iraq war. Filmmaker Charles Ferguson uses these first-hand accounts to suggest that the Bush administration, as well as the provisional government they instated in Iraq, have made crucial, irresponsible errors.

25. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin’ Down a Dream,2007

Description

Filmmaker Peter Bogdanovich tells the story of the legendary rock band and its front man using interviews and concert footage.

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